


Fists and Charm

by Pandorah



Series: The Adventures of Ogthar and Malik [1]
Category: Pathfinder (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Getting to Know Each Other, Multi, Pathfinder - Freeform, Prequel, are you following me, future team up, we keep bumping into each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-12 23:56:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15351630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandorah/pseuds/Pandorah
Summary: Ogthar Hammerfist is a half-orc monk traveling around, helping out where he can. He first meets Malik Vox, a tiefling mesmer, when he gets into a bit of trouble on a job. After that, they just keep running into each other. This is the story of how they get together before the start of the campaign.





	1. Oh Bugger

The wind was blowing strong enough to cause dust to rise up into the air and obscure views. It didn't die down either, but continued longer than any dust storm should. The cause of the wind and dust soon made itself known by a loud buzzing and clicking sound that filled the air, barely audible over the wind.

A large insect like monster appeared out of the trees, resembling an odd combination of a dragonfly and scorpion. It was the size of horses and was very angry.

The monster swooped down towards a humanoid figure with dark green skin who was backed against a rock ledge with no where to go. A cliff was a few feet to the figures left and and obstructed path to his right. A rock slide had taken out most of the area around him, along with the wooden bridge that was meant to lead across the gorge he'd been heading for.

"Hey, you look like you could use some help!" A male voice called from above before the sound of shattering glass followed. 

The monster let out a high pitched scream of pain as fire spread across it's body. It let out another scream as blood began to pour from it's eyes, obscuring it's vision of the figure in front of it.

The green skinned figure looked up to see a tiefling with purple skin grinning down at him, hand extended. The figure immediately grabbed the offered hand and climbed up the cliff face behind him while the monster was distracted.

"Thank y-"

"Thank me later, fight now!" The tiefling did a back flip out of the way as the monster flew up and over to them, claws snapping and teeth gnashing in anger. "I hope you know how to crack this thing open. I'm not so good with close combat." He pulled a whip off his belt and gave it a crack when the monster tried to get close to them again.

"Oh, no worries there." The figure, a green skinned half orc, grinned and hit his fists together. "I'll tenderize him nice and good. Maybe he'll be good for eating." 

This time when the monster charged them, the half orc ran to meet it. He leapt up into the air with his fist pulled back and slammed it down hard on top of its head. He then used that momentum to push off the monster and out of the way of its deadly claws.

The wind had died down for the moment and the dust was slowly settling allowing all parties better views of each other. This was a good thing as more buzzing and clicking was heard as two more of the monsters appeared up from below the cliff. The three of them now circled around the duo that had wandered into their territory.

"Three of them, huh? This could be a bit tricky." The tiefling said, though he was still grinning. "You wouldn't happen to have any moves that could take them all down at once, do you?"

The half orc shook his head. "No, but I'm pretty strong so they should go down fast. Just watch my back for me!" 

The half orc dodged out of the way as he was dive bombed by one of the monsters, then jumped onto its back before it got out of range. He proceeded to punch it in the head multiple times in rapid succession. With one last cry, the monster plummeted to the ground and landed hard. It did not move again.

"Fwoo!" the tiefling gave a whistle. "That was pretty impressive!" he just barely dodged out of the way of one of the other monsters in his response. His whip lashed out and caught around the large stinger on the tail and he pulled hard. His intention was to pull it down to the ground so he could hit it, but instead he was lifted off his feet and up into the air. "Fuck!"

The tiefling wrapped his legs and tail around the monsters tail and held on tight while it proceeded to do its best to throw him off. When they were closer to the ground, he yelled out, "I command you to stop!"

The monster made a sound, did one more barrel roll in the sky, then dropped to the ground. No sooner had his feet touched the ground than the half orc was barreling over to them and punching it. The tiefling took the opportunity to slash at the monster with his tail blade. Another shriek from the monster and it was dead.

"Two down, one to go!" the half orc yelled.

The third one was no longer visible, having gone into hiding. The wind picked up again and once more the dust along with it and obscured their vision. Both men moved so they were closer to each other and facing outward, their eyes scanning through the dust trying to find their last opponent. Aside from the roar of the wind, it was quiet.

"Do you think it bolted?" the half orc asked, his fists up as he held an offensive stance.

"Maybe. We did just kill two of its friends." 

"I think we should split before it decides to show its ugly face again."

Just as he said it, the ground split open, sending dirt and rocks flying, as it burst out of the ground. One of the monsters claws grabbed the tiefling by a leg and began to drag him back down into the hole.

"Oh fuck no." The tiefling yelled and used his tail blade to lash the monster across the eyes. It let out a shirek and loosened it's grip just enough for the tiefling to pull free. He gave it another lash with the blade before pulling himself out of the hole and out of melee range. "Damn, that stings." he cursed as he glared down at the gash in his lower leg where he'd been grabbed.

"You alright?" the half orc gave him a look over before moving to stand in front of him as the monster came out of the hole. "Move further away. I'll take care of it."

"My pleasure. I've lost interest in dancing with this one." he limped away quickly to make sure he was out of immediate danger.

The wind was starting to calm again and the visibility improved.

"That wasn't very nice. It's not right to grab people without their permission!" 

The half orc lunged and went into a flurry of blows so fast that the monster had little time to react. It tried to lash at its attacker with its tail, but it failed. With one last powerful hit, the monsters head caved in went silent, only twitching a bit as the life left its body.

"I think we're safe now." Finally the half orc relaxed his stance after scanning the area for any other disturbances.

"For now, anyway. There is supposed to be a whole nest of those things around here." The tiefling flopped down onto the ground and started tearing his pant leg off to examine his wound. "Thankfully the bastard didn't get me too deep." He tore the pant leg into a long strip and wrapped it tightly around the wound. It would hold until he got back to town. 

"Hey, thanks for the help earlier. I'm Ogthar." the half orc said with a nod and a thumb pointed to the cliff he'd been pulled up. "I'm just going to grab something, so stay there."

"Malik, and no problem." he flopped backwards onto the ground with a groan. He wasn't used to this close combat stuff and was worn down.

A moment later Ogthar returned from wherever he had gone. He had a pack with him now and a ball of white fur around his neck. He approached Malik and sat down beside him and pulled open his bag.

"I have proper bandages and medicine with me. Let me take care of that so it doesn't get infected." he reached for the injured leg but it was pulled away.

"Nah, I'm good, Oggie." he chuckled when the other tilted his head at the nickname. "What, don't like 'Oggie'? Ogthar sounds so..."

"Orcish? Well," Ogthar gestured at himself.

"Yeah." both of them chuckled. "So, what were you doing down there anyway?"

"I was looking for that monster nest, actually. There is a reward out for its destruction since the monsters have been going after the village nearby."

"You were trying to take down a nest by yourself? Are you crazy?" Malik sat up and gave Ogthar a look over. "I mean, I know you're a buff guy with some killer moves, literally, but a nest is a bit much. You're lucky I found you when there was only three of them around."

Ogthar shrugged. "Those are just the ones I missed. I thought I wiped them all out already. I was careless."

Malik stared at him. "You killed all the other ones already? How?"

"Nothing so fancy. I threw in a gas bomb that knocked them out, then I went in and finished them off while they were lethargic. They are really slow right now. I suspect that they had been hibernating and only recently became active again. It explains why they were going after people in a village trying to get food."

"Hm, makes sense." Malik got up on his feet and stretched, a yawn escaping. "Anyway, it was nice meeting you Oggie. Too bad it wasn't under better circumstances. I'm going to head back to the village and find a place to sleep."

Ogthar got up as well and slung the pack over his shoulder. "Do you want to come with me? Since you helped me fight these things, I think you are deserving of part of the reward."

"I hardly did anything. I'm not really a fighter." the tiefling waved his hand dismissively. 

"At least let me walk with you back. I want to make sure you don't hurt yourself more on that leg. Besides, we're going in the same direction."

"I certainly wouldn't say no to walking with a handsome fellow such as yourself." he winked and grinned as the green skin darkened on Ogthars cheeks.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, let's be on our way then." 

The trip back to town only took an hour and it was thankfully uneventful. Ogthar talked more about himself while Malik enjoyed teasing him to make him blush more. They stopped outside the inn where Malik was staying.

"Maybe I'll see you around again. Hopefully without needing to fight for my life."

Ogthar chuckled, "Yeah, that would be nice. Maybe I'll buy you a drink."

"Yeah, that would be nice." Malik echoed with a grin. "See ya around, handsome. Feel free to come visit me here later if you want to have some fun." He gave a wink as he passed by,laughing as he entered the inn.

Ogthar was blushing so strongly he looked like an unripe tomato.


	2. Hit Me With Your Best Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ogthar runs into Malik again and this time saves him from getting beat to a pulp.

The second time that Malik and Ogthar ran into each other was at a pub.

Ogthar walked in, ready for a drink after a long day of walking between villages, and found the tiefling surrounded by a group of mostly naked men. One of the men was holding him down on the table, a fist full of Malik's vest, and had one hand pulled back ready to punch him.

Ogthar ran over in a burst of speed and caught the mans fist before it could connect with Malik's face.

"What seems to be the problem here, men?" he'd almost called them gentlemen but that was obviously untrue.

"This ain't got nothin' ta do with ya, half-orc." The man sneered at him. "Ya better move along or ya can join this one 'ere."

Malik leaned sideways a bit on the table, as far as he could anyway, to look around the man holding him down. "Oh, Oggie! How've you been?" he asked as if he weren't in his current situation.

Ogthar snorted a bit, "Nothing to complain about." he gave the mans wrist a squeeze before pushing him away from Malik. "It looks like you might have a story to tell though."

"Nah, these guys are just poor losers." Malik slid off the table and adjusted his clothes. "They have the worst poker faces."

"You cheated and you damn well know it!" one of the other men shouted.

Malik rolled his eyes. "Please, I had no need to cheat against you lot. A blind man could have read your moves."

Ogthar bit his lip to keep from laughing at that.

"You sonofabitch!"

Once again the man that had been holding Malik down lunged towards him. He did not reach his goal, however. Instead, his arm was yanked and twisted around his back, dropping him to his knees on the floor.

"Now, now, there's no need to start a fight over this. It would not be good if you caused damage to this pub." Ogthar pulled on the mans arm enough to make him whimper in pain. "Are you going to try and attack my friend again, or are you going to leave quietly?"

The man was silent for a moment, but his eyes were staring daggers at Malik. "Fine, we'll go." he got to his feet when Ogthar released him. "If we see ya around again, ya be finding yerself gettin' real friendly with pain. Let's go." he added to the other two men that were with him. They gathered up their clothes on the floor and hurried out.

Malik burst into laughter as soon as the pub door had closed behind them. "Oh man, that was the best! The looks on their faces!" he stopped after a moment, wiped the tears from his eyes. "You didn't have to stop him, you know. I can take a punch."

Ogthar let out a long sigh and crossed his arms over his chest. "I was not going to let you stab him."

The tiefling stared at the other male for a moment before grinning, "How did you know?"

"You were leaving yourself open on purpose to draw their attention. Your tail was aiming to strike. You should be happy the other two with him didn't notice or that would not have ended well."

Malik shrugged, "I could have handled it easily. They would not have gotten a scratch on me." he turned and started walking up to the bar. "Let me buy you a drink in thanks anyway. Though you did say you'd treat me sometime."

"I did say that, but answer me something first. Did you really cheat?"

"Of course I did!" Malik said with a grin, "but not to improve my own cards, just to make theirs worse. I win with actual skill. It just gets boring playing normally."

"You..." Ogthar palmed his face and sighed. "I'm not buying you a drink this time. I feel like I should be buying those other guys drinks instead."

"Meh." Malik waved his hand dismissively. "On me then. Order what you want."


	3. Whips and Chains Excite Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malik finds himself in even deeper trouble when he stumbles upon a cult.

The third time that Ogthar and Malik meet is in a much more dangerous situation.

"You know, I'm normally into this kind of thing, but you're being a bit excessive." Malik said between gasps of pain as the whip dug deep gouges into his skin.

The purple skinned tiefling hung from a chain in the cave ceiling and his legs were bound by another to the floor to keep him in one spot. He had been stripped of all of his clothing and hung bleeding and naked before the small group of masked figures around him. 

The cave was dimly lit, the only light provided by a few torches around the chamber. A large altar was set up in the middle of the room, covered in old and new blood, a dead body of a halfling lying on the ground to the side of it. Above the altar was a large, jagged crystal, now shattered, and a wicked looking blade that had fallen to one side.

Malik had come here in search of a certain item. He did not know about the cult that had taken up residence in the caverns here, but it was his own fault for not researching more about the area. They had caught him sneaking around and going through their belongings. He didn't even have a chance to get a word out before they had attacked him and chained him up. It had been at least a half a day at this point since the torture had started.

"I'm going to enjoy ripping that tongue out of your mouth once we're done with you!" the apparent leader of the cult spat at him. "Now tell us where you put it and we can all continue with our business."

"Getting tired of playing with me already? You don't have much stamina do you?"

The masked man back handed Malik across the face. The tiefling then grinned at him, his teeth covered in his own blood. They stared at each other for a time before the man moved away.

"You have now lost your chance of a quick death." The leader moved over to a chest off to the side and pulled something out of it. He set it on the altar while he pulled on a thick pair of gloves. "Have you ever seen one of these before?" the leader asked as he picked up the item and moved back over to stand in front of his prisoner. 

He held up a large jar filled with slithering snake like creatures inside. Their skin was translucent and you could see their intestines though it. Their mouths were filled with tiny, razor sharp teeth. Their hissing could be heard through the thick glass. Malik had indeed seen them before and knew what they were.

"Yeah, I know what they are, but why don't you tell me? You seem to like the sound of your own voice."

The other members of the cult were starting to get antsy and shift around, talking to each other under their breaths. Two of them approached Malik and grabbed him to keep him from moving around; he'd started squirming in the chains.

"Still trying to put on a brave face. If you know what these are," he took one out of the jar, holding it near the head so he wouldn't get bit, then passed the jar to one of his followers, "then you know what will happen once it bites you."

"Something along the lines of having my blood sucked from my body. How boring." Malik started squirming more in the chains. Another follower moved over to wrap his arms around his waist from behind. "You can't even show me a good time before you off me?"

The leader smirked as he stood in front of Malik. "Oh, I think you will put on quite the show for us once this is on you." 

He nodded to the other people holding Malik and the stepped away from him. He reached his hand up and placed the creature on Maliks arm. The creature wrapped around Maliks arm before slithering down his body to wrap around his neck. With a loud hissing sound, it reared back before sinking its many fangs into Maliks chest.

Malik grit his teeth against the pain and cursed mentally, but he would not give the cultists the satisfaction of hearing him scream. It felt like his skin was on fire as the creature bit into him and proceeded to rip off and eat pieces of his flesh. More blood poured from the wound as it got deeper and bigger. He was starting to feel a bit light headed now after having already lost quite a bit of blood to the previous torture. He could tilt his head down just enough to see the thing on him and see his own blood fill its translucent body. It was very unsettling to say the least.

"Now, we'll see how chatty you are after having the Hell Leach on you for awhile." The leader grinned, then turned to his followers. "Go and search for the relic in the mean time. I am returning to my chamber to continue the research." he pointed at one of the followers, the biggest in the group. "You, stay here and keep an eye on him. Come fetch me before he dies."

The masked figure nodded as the leader left and the other members dispersed. 

"You know, you could just make things easier on yourself and tell them where you hid the relic. There is no bauble more valuable than your own life." a deep male voice spoke softly beside Malik. He moved a bit closer and froze when he felt a blade press to his throat, eyes going wide behind the mask.

Malik held the dagger with his tail against the cultists throat. "Just for a future note, if you want to truly restrain a tiefling, strap down their tail. Otherwise...well, I could have easily just killed you right now, Oggie."

The cultist slowly relaxed though he still didn't move. "How did you know it was me?"

"You said 'them' instead of 'us'. If you were really a member of this stupid cult, wouldn't you also want to know where your precious relic was?" Malik gave Ogthar the dagger. "Anyway, get me down from here while everyone is distracted."

Ogthar used the dagger to cut off the Hell Leach and tossed it's body aside. "Sorry, a few teeth are still in there." he winced sympathetically as he looked at the gaping wound in Maliks chest, along with all the other wounds from before. "We really need to get you to a doctor."

"We probably should get my clothes and other things first. I saw them toss them over there in one of the chests."

Oggie was thankful that he had been given the manacles key when Malik was first locked up. He quickly let the other male down and then went to look for his items. Loud yelling was heard echoing through the caverns followed by screams of pain. Oggie frowned when he heard Malik laugh.

"They found one of my presents."

"I don't think I want to know. Now hurry up and get dressed." Ogthar held Maliks items while he pulled on his clothes, then passed them along. "Let's get out of here."

"Wait, I have to grab something first. I'm not leaving empty handed after going through all this shit. Follow me. And be quiet!" 

The pair made their way down a hall as quietly as they could, then stopped outside of a large wooden door. Ogthar frowned, already knowing where the door lead to.

"Malik, this really isn't a good-"

"Shh!" Malik clamped his hand over Ogthars mouth. "I'll just be a minute. You stand guard here. If anyone comes this way, just say the boss said he doesn't want to be disturbed."

Ogthar sighed behind the hands over his mouth. "Fine," he said when they were lowered. "Be quick."

Malik just grinned as he slowly opened the door and slipped inside. Ogthar didn't know how he did it without alerting the cult leader. The room inside was not very big. The man must have been distracted. Either way, there was no noise at all from inside. Straining his ears, Ogthar heard something shift across the floor and a grunt, and then more silence. When a knock on the door from inside came, he stepped to the side and Malik came back out. He was holding two small bags and more blood was sprayed across his face and chest.

"Okay, let's go."

Somehow they managed to get back through the caverns without running into any more of the cultists Malik seemed to know exactly where to go to avoid him. Ogthar lost sight of the tiefling a few times, but somehow didn't fall behind. Finally, they reached the exit of the cavern and took off into a sprint.

It was only when they'd put a good distance between them did they slow down or speak again.

"What were you doing in there?"

"Something fun and messy."

"I can tell," the monk frowned as he again looked over his blood covered traveling companion. "What did you go in there for? Don't tell me..."

"Yeah, it was to get this." Malik held up one of the bags he was carrying. "The best place to hide things is in plain sight. The bastard didn't even think that the relic would be in his own office. Right in his bed a few feet away from where he'd been sitting." he reached into the bag and pulled out a crystal glove the size of a grapefruit. Inside was what looked to be remains of some kind.

"Well, the client will be happy."

Malik tilted his head to the side. "I did not get this for a client, at least not one who put up any notice for it. I do recall someone wanting to take out those cultists though. Are you sure you don't want to take care of that now? I'm sure I've managed to cripple some of them."

Ogthar just shook his head. "We need to get you to a healer. I don't have any potions on me to give you. You're still bleeding pretty bad from those wounds. I'm especially worried about the one from the leach. Those won't stop bleeding on their own."

"I know." Malik rubbed at the bleeding wound, pulled out one of the teeth left behind and looked at it. "For something so small, it sure does a lot of damage." He tossed it aside. "Still, I've got something I have to do first before I worry about cleaning up." He stopped when they reached the road. "This is where we're going to part ways. It was nice running into you again, Oggie. It looks like I owe you another drink."

"No."

"Huh?"

"We are not parting ways. You keep getting yourself into trouble and then not caring about your health. I think I'll stay with you for awhile until you get some sense knocked into you. If I hadn't of followed you, you'd probably be dead right now."

Malik blinked up at the green skinned man. "You followed me? Is that why you were with the cultists? I thought you were going for the bounty?"

"That was only the partial truth." His cheeks tinted. "I saw you heading that way and got a bad feeling about it."

Malik chuckled, "You really are a good guy, huh? You know, one of these days helping me out is going to get you into some serious trouble. Are you sure you don't want to part ways now?"

"I'm positive. Besides, I don't have anywhere I'm heading. I may as well kill some time with you."

"Oh, I'd love to do that. We have all the time we want now." Malik moved closer and put his hand on Ogthars arm. "Will you hold me again?"

"Huh?"

"That was you before, right? The one who grabbed me from behind. I was disappointed I was the only one naked at that point."

Ogthar stammered unintelligible words before moving away. "Let's get back to town before those cultists come after us."

"I really do need you to hold me again." Malik said, his voice a bit weak. "I've lost more blood than I thought." he wobbled on his feet as he followed behind Ogthar.

Immediately Ogthar stopped and scooped Malik up into his arms, trying to be as careful as he could about all the wounds. He could feel the slick slide of skin against him as he too became covered in blood.

"This is why you should make sure you have potions with you!" the half-orc grumbled as carried the other down the road.

"Why didn't you?" 

"I didn't have a chance to restock before I saw you heading out of town. I didn't want to lose you."

"Aw, you are so sweet. Like my own personal knight." Malik gave Ogthar a kiss on the cheek. His tail wound around the others waist. "Thank you."

"Y-yeah. Anytime."

Ogthar was both relieved and disappointed when the reached the town.


End file.
